Wooden Toy

Children in Mexico grow up playing with skeleton toys like this one.  The toys teach them about mortality, but also make sure their first impressions of death are cheerful.  Craftsmen have made toys specifically for the Day of the Dead since at least the mid-1800s.  Folk artist Gumercindo España Olivares, known as Don Chinda, made this toy, as well as others in the Museum’s collection.  In Santa Cruz de Juventino Rosas, Guanajuato, he made toys with the help of his wife, children, and grandchildren for many decades prior to his passing in 2018.  His toys often have some element of movement.  As this one rolls forward, the skeleton on the cart sits up.